Former CNN host Don Lemon revealed on Sunday’s episode of Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast that he experienced sexual harassment from both men and women while working at CNN.
He told Maher there was a moment when a woman allegedly touched him inappropriately in the CNN cafeteria in Atlanta.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “There are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level.”
“This young lady tweaked my nipples and said, ‘Oh, it’s cold in here.’ I said, ‘OK, you realize that if I did that, they’d be walking me out the door right now?’”
The 59-year-old host said he “didn’t care to go to HR,” nor “say anything because it’s a double standard.”
Maher appeared to agree, acknowledging that it wasn’t a situation Lemon could have easily addressed at the time.
Lemon, who has long been openly gay, went on to say this wasn’t an isolated incident.
He said he attended a work event at CNN with a female colleague and had a few drinks. Since ride-sharing services like Uber weren’t available at the time, he said he accepted her offer to stay in her spare room. He implied that she saw this as an opportunity and attempted to sleep with him, despite knowing he was gay.
“I never told this story. Someone who I worked with also harassed me at CNN, and I never went to management,” Lemon told Maher.
“First of all, I was so new there. She knew I was gay. It was just bizarre. She was going through a divorce … It was weird,” he said. “It was just bizarre.”
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 7: American television journalist Don Lemon arrives at Shaq’s Fun House at Mardi Gras World on February 7, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Skip Bolen/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 08: Don Lemon attends CNN Heroes at American Museum of Natural History on December 08, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)
“I thought, ‘OK, they may find a way to get rid of me, because if I told this story, I don’t know if they’re gonna believe me or not,” he said on the podcast. “But then she was so mean to me after that, I was like, ‘I should have told the story.’” (RELATED: REPORT: Freshly Unearthed Audio Captures Jonathan Majors Admitting He ‘Aggressed’ Ex-Girlfriend)
Lemon refrained from naming any of the women he mentioned during the interview.
Daily Caller has reached out to CNN for comment and has not received a response as of Tuesday afternoon.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
